FRIENDS: BILLY, APOLLINAIRE, ROUVEYRE, GIDE

A few weeks after the venerable figure o f ‘Maurice Boissard’
introduced himself to readers o f the Mercure de France, Remy de
Gourmont invited Leautaud to join the magazine as a full-time
employee. He and Vallette were obviously offering their con­
tributor the job out o f sympathy. They wanted him to have a
living wage that would at the same time enable him to carry on
with his writing.